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At iLEAD Antelope Valley, we believe when kids learn how to face challenges, they grow into leaders. As part of our emphasis on social-emotional learning (SEL), we believe it’s important to develop what we call a growth mindset.

Let’s do a quick test. Do you tend to agree or disagree with the following statements?

• My intelligence is something I can’t change very much.
• I’m a certain kind of person, and there isn’t much I can do to change that.
• I often get frustrated when I get feedback on my performance.
• Trying new things is stressful, and I avoid it.

How we respond to these statements reveals whether we have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Many children are raised and exposed to situations that create a fixed mindset, which may seem harmless on the surface, but actually creates long-term challenges for them in school and in life, when they fear failure and tend to avoid challenges.

Conversely, children who have a growth mindset are more likely to learn from their mistakes, tackle challenges head-on, and be motivated to succeed. 

Some contrasting statements may be helpful for bringing this into focus:

• A fixed mindset says: “Failure is the limit of my abilities.”
• A growth mindset says: “Failure is an opportunity to grow.”

• A fixed mindset says: “I’m either good at it or I’m not.”
• A growth mindset says: “I can learn to do anything I want.”

• A fixed mindset says: “My abilities are unchanging.”
• A growth mindset says: “Challenges help me grow.”

• A fixed mindset says: “My potential is predetermined.”
• A growth mindset says: “My effort and attitude determine my abilities.”

• A fixed mindset says: “Feedback and criticism are personal.”
• A growth mindset says: “Feedback is constructive.”

• A fixed mindset: “I stick to what I know.”
• A growth mindset says: “I like to try new things.”

The development of a healthy growth mindset is all about helping kids realize and embrace their potential and equipping them to be empowered and fueled by challenges, rather than hindered by them.

A growth mindset will intrinsically motivate children to improve, learn, and grow in school and all other areas of their lives.

Writing in Scientific American, psychologist Carol S. Dweck unpacked “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids” and the importance of fostering a growth mindset, stressing the importance of seeing success as the result of hard work instead of simply inborn talent.

“When we gave everyone hard problems anyway, those praised for being smart became discouraged, doubting their ability,” she wrote. “In contrast, students praised for their hard work did not lose confidence when faced with the harder questions, and their performance improved markedly on the easier problems that followed” (emphasis ours).

Make no mistake, it is good to praise our children for their strengths and talents, but it is crucial to encourage them to see challenges as opportunities and to value their efforts. If they can learn and embrace this at school age, there’s no telling what they may achieve. 

Watch: On Growth Mindset

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is one of the core elements of the iLEAD Antelope Valley approach to education. Through social-emotional learning, learners understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. 

Academic achievement is only one aspect of a learner’s education at iLEAD Antelope Valley. We also deeply value learners’ development of emotional intelligence, life skills, and community engagement, and we support these through the development of character strengths, as defined by Character Lab. Social-emotional learning develops strengths of heart, mind, and will.

Today, we want to discuss a character strength of will: optimism. Optimism is being hopeful about future outcomes combined with the agency to shape that future.

When we embody the character strength of optimism, the following things are true about us:

1. We attribute problems to temporary, changeable causes rather than explaining them in terms that author Martin Seligman calls “the three Ps” – permanent, personal, and pervasive.
2. We expect good things from others, the world, and the future.
3. We can overcome obstacles to reach goals.

We can help learners build healthy optimism in the following ways:

• Create a positive, stable, caring environment. We can create positive, stable environments where kids feel known and cared for.
• Help learners develop more positive thinking patterns. For example, if a learner gets stuck and says, “I’m not good at this,” we encourage them to reposition the statement like this: “I need more practice or a new perspective to master this concept.” This takes consistent practice.
• Give learners opportunities to learn from their mistakes. If learners experience failure and learn from that failure, they will develop resiliency when obstacles occur. 

Character Lab CEO Angela Duckworth has said, “It stands to reason that even in our darkest moments, there will always be hope for humankind.”

That thought likely rings true for many of us as we survey a world gripped by multiple ongoing crises. We all need optimism, and we have a responsibility to help kids develop a healthy strength of optimism that will help them face the world.